


When A Prank Goes Wrong

by MrsWhovian



Category: NCIS
Genre: Claustrophobia, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, TW: Self Harm, prank, tw: mentions of bullying, tw: panic attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24560806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsWhovian/pseuds/MrsWhovian
Summary: Ellie and Nick enjoy pranking each other.  This time, though, it goes horribly wrong.  TW for panic attacks, self harm, and talking about bullying.
Relationships: Ellie Bishop & Nick Torres, Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Comments: 5
Kudos: 59





	When A Prank Goes Wrong

Nick jumped a foot in the air, chuckling as Ellie threw her head back, laughing with glee. They’d got into a weird routine of doing ‘jump scares’ on each other lately: hiding around corners, behind desks, once under an autopsy table, then jumping out when the other passed by. And if Ellie occasionally grabbed on to Nick’s hand, clutching it to her chest as she calmed down? Well, Nick wasn’t going to complain!  
\---  
So this is how, a few days later, Nick found himself hiding in a cupboard a little way along the corridor from MTAC. He had decided to take things up a notch, and so, when Ellie walked past, he jumped out. Grabbing her wrist, he pushed her into the closet, and pulled the door tight against the frame, holding it closed. Counting to three, he let go, running quickly down the stairs, sliding behind his desk and immediately getting engrossed in the tasks in front of him.

Meanwhile, Ellie rolled her eyes as she heard footsteps scampering away. She was really going to have to up her game next time. Grabbing the door handle, she gently twisted it to go back to work. Well, she tried to. She put a bit more effort into pulling the door, and felt the familiar feeling of panic when she realised that the door was well and truly stuck.

“Nick?” she called, knocking on the door. “Anyone?”

She opened her mouth to try and shout again, but her breath caught in her throat. As the panic started to consume her, she stumbled backwards, falling to the floor and pulling her knees up to the chest as the tears started to well up in her eyes.  
\---  
“Torres! Where’s Bishop?”

Nick looked up from his computer screen, turning around to see Gibbs looking angry, and Bishop’s chair empty. He glanced down at his watch, and felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach when he realised that it had been an hour since his little prank.

“Erm, I’ll go and look for her.”

Gibbs nodded, and Nick quickly ran up the stairs, picking up speed when he saw the door was still shut. Gripping the handle, he quickly realised that the door had stuck in the frame. Pushing hard, the door flew open, but his apology died in his throat when he saw Ellie. She was curled up in the corner, lying on her side with her arms wrapped round her knees. Her breaths were shallow, and her eyes were glassy as she looked straight through Nick at the corridor, but made no effort to move.

“B?”

When Ellie didn’t reply, Nick realised how bad things were. Scooping her up into his arms, he got into the elevator, pressing the button for autopsy.  
\---  
“Ducky?”

Nick looked around, frustrated to realise the room was empty. Sitting her down on a chair, he crouched down in front of her, taking her hands in his.

“Ellie? Can you hear me?”

Ellie stayed completely still, her breathing still uneven. She didn’t even seem to register that she had left the cupboard.

“Nicholas? Eleanor?”

Nick turned around, thankful to see Ducky in the doorway.

“Ducky, thank God. I played a prank on Ellie, but she got stuck in a cupboard for an hour, and she won’t talk or move and she isn’t breathing normally and I don’t know what to do.”

Placing a comforting hand on Nick’s shoulder, Ducky nodded understandingly as he explained.

“That sounds like a severe panic attack to me. You head back upstairs, and I’ll talk to her. She’ll be fine, I promise. You did the right thing bringing her down here. I’ll let you know when she’s feeling better, but it might be a little while. You’d better let Gibbs know.”

Nick nodded, and leant down place a gentle kiss on his friend’s head before heading back to the bullpen.  
\---  
It was another hour before Ellie reappeared upstairs, Ducky at her side with an arm around her waist, seemingly steadying her. Gibbs took one look at her, eyes red and shaking hands clasped in front of her, along with Ducky’s concerned look on his face, and immediately sent her home, instructing Nick to drive her. They were both under strict instructions not to come back until tomorrow.

It was a quiet, tense drive home, and once they had pulled up outside her apartment, he was quick to take her hand and help her out of the car. He was disappointed when she immediately let go, walking in front of him to let herself in. Nick paused, not entirely sure whether to follow her, but made his decision when she left the door open behind her.  
\---  
As he walked in, shutting the door behind him, he noticed that Ellie had grabbed a hoodie and pulled it over her head, and was now in her kitchen pouring a glass of water. She glanced up when she saw Nick come in, and silently grabbed a second glass, filling that too. Nick waited by the front door, only moving when she sat on the sofa, putting both glasses on the coffee table, and nodded to the empty space next to her.

Nick quickly sat down next to her, and reached out to rest his hand on her knee, trying not to feel too defeated when she flinched away from him.

“I’m so sorry Ellie. I didn’t know the door would stick. You were supposed to get straight out, and come down and punch me in the shoulder. We were supposed to laugh about it. It was supposed to be just another prank and I’m so, so sorry.”

Ellie didn’t reply for at least a minute, and Nick was about to give up hope when she whispered something that he couldn’t quite hear.

“Sorry, Ellie, could you repeat that?” he asked as he leant in closer to her.

“You forgot about me. Why do people always forget about me?”

“I could never forget about you, B. I just got engrossed in my work. I got side-tracked.”

“You forgot!” Ellie snapped loudly, jumping up to move away from him. “You’re no better than my bullies in high school. They knew exactly how forgettable I am, and they took advantage of it! Maybe you didn’t mean for me to get stuck, but you still forgot about me.” Closing her eyes, her shoulders sagged, and all the fight left her body as she said quietly, “I’m tired of constantly being reminded of how unimportant and insignificant I am.”

Unlike when she was trapped in the cupboard, Nick was there when her knees buckled this time. He stood up, wrapped her in his arms, and moved her back to the sofa. This time, she moved towards him, resting her head on his shoulder as she pulled her feet up under her body. Nick wasted no time in pulling her close, and pressed a kiss into her hair.

“You are the most important and significant person in my life, and I’m so sorry that my actions today gave you reason to doubt that. I promise I will try to make it up to you, if you’ll let me.”

He felt her nod, and then asked the question that he didn’t really want to ask, but knew that he had to.

“What did you mean? About those bullies in high school?”

Ellie shuddered, before sitting up, and crossed her legs as she angled herself to face Nick.

“It was my senior year,” she started, running a trembling hand through her hair, before moving it down to interlace her fingers with Nick’s. “It was a half day, so I was heading to the library for the afternoon, and I got pulled into the art classroom. Two of the football players, and their girlfriends, were in there. They pinned my arms by my side, kicked my legs out from under me, and carried me into the supply closet. They closed the door, wedged a chair under the handle, and left. After, they said they assumed that the janitor would check the building before he left, and that I’d be out really quickly. But the janitor was in a rush, so he just peered through the window, saw nobody inside, and left.”

Nick sighed, shaking his head. He lifted their entwined hands up to his lips, and kissed the back of her hand, unable to hide his gentle smile when she blushed, biting her lip shyly.

“How long did it take for someone to notice you were missing?” he asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer when Ellie drew in another ragged breath, tears welling in her eyes again.

“Seven hours,” she sobbed, and Nick was unable to suppress the horrified gasp he let out as he pulled her close again, Ellie wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, Nick doing the same.

“How?” Nick asked incredulously.

“I’d told my family that morning that I was going to spend the afternoon at the library. I didn’t have a cell phone back then, so my mom had no way of contacting me. It got to 6:30, and dinner was on the table, and I wasn’t home. Mom was starting to get concerned, but it wasn’t unusual for me to lose track of time. It was only when Robbie came back a little after seven that they realised something was up. He’d walked past the library on the way home, and had seen it all shut up. Obviously their original assumption was that I had been abducted. Mom rang the police, but at the same time my brothers decided to head to the school. They knew I had been having trouble with bullies, and they knew how teenagers could be. One of the guys that George was at school with was teaching gym there, so he rang him and asked him to open up the school.”

“I can’t imagine how you must have been feeling,” Nick said quietly, hugging her even closer to his body. They were pressed to tightly together now that you couldn’t fit a piece of paper between them.

“That’s why I’m claustrophobic now,” she explained, “Which I’m sure you could’ve guessed. When my brothers found me I was a mess. I’d screamed and shouted until my throat was raw. I couldn’t speak for two days afterwards. I’d got bruised hands from banging on the door, and at some point I’d scratched my arms to shreds in my panic. I don’t remember doing that. I never do when my panic attacks get really bad. I either zone out, or pass out. When I come round I’m either scratched or bleeding, depending whether or not there’s something sharp within reach. I never remember.”

They sat together in silence for a few minutes, Nick processing everything that Ellie had told him. He could feel a nervous energy coming off her. He couldn’t work out why, until he remembered something she’d said, possibly unintentionally.

_When I come round I’m either scratched or bleeding, depending whether or not there’s something sharp within reach._

“Ellie?” Nick said softly, waiting until she looked up at him to continue. “Rule 9.”

Ellie nodded, shame clouding her eyes as she pulled the sleeves of her hoodie right over her hands.

_Never go anywhere without a knife._

“Can I?” Nick asked, gesturing to her arms. When Ellie eventually nodded, lifting her left arm up slightly, Nick gently rolled back her sleeve, biting his lip as he tried to keep his expression neutral.

Her arm was littered with shallow cuts, with one deeper cut near her elbow, which Ducky had obviously stitched up. He lifted his hand holding her arm to press a kiss on an unharmed part of her wrist, but Ellie quickly pulled her arm away, and rolled her sleeve back down.

“Sorry,” Nick apologised, but Ellie shook her head.

“I just don’t like people touching them or looking at them,” she explained.

“Is that something that only comes with the panic attacks, or…?” Nick trailed off, unable to find the words to finish his question.

“It’s just with the panic attacks,” Ellie confirmed. “It’s only happened a handful of times, when the panic attacks were really bad. I’ve had smaller attacks, but as long as I’m aware of what’s going on I can control it.”

“I’m so sorry Ellie,” Nick said again. “I truly didn’t mean for you to get stuck, and I didn’t mean to get distracted by work, and I’m so angry at myself for causing so much pain to you. I promise it will never happen again. I’ll do everything I can to make sure you feel safe, and important. Because I meant what I said earlier. You are the most important person in my life, and you make me feel happy, and I never want to be the reason that you feel upset, or scared, or second best, or unloved, or, well, anything other than wonderful.”

Ellie cupped his face in her hands, and kissed his forehead like he had done to her earlier in the afternoon.

“I know it wasn’t your fault that I got stuck. It was just an unfortunate accident. And, I know I was angry before, but I know how easy it is to lose track of time when you’re working better than anybody. Especially when you know Gibbs could want an update at any moment.”

Nick nodded, only then noticing that Ellie still had his head held gently in her hands.

“I just don’t understand how I could have forgotten you, even for a minute, when you occupy my mind, day and night. I always want to know you’re safe during the day, I dream about you at night, and when we’ve had an intense day, I just want to have dinner with you, and hold you close, and never let go.”

They both blinked a couple of times as Nick realised just what he had said, and Ellie let all the new information sink in.

“Really?” she asked softly, her thumbs rubbing against Nick’s cheeks. When he nodded, she let a soft smile adorn her face as she gently leant forward.

As their lips met, they both smiled into the kiss. Ellie’s hands moved into Nick’s hair, and Nick moved his hands around Ellie’s back, pulling her towards him so that she was sat on his lap, her legs straddling his.

Ellie slowly pulled away, before leaning down to bury her face in Nick’s neck, both of them trying to get their breathing under control. Nick shivered slightly when he felt her lips ghosting against his neck as she breathed, and Ellie, feeling him react, couldn’t resist placing a kiss against his neck, moving away to laugh when he let out a growl.

“You’re killing me, B,” Nick muttered, yet not really complaining.

Ellie smiled, rolling her eyes in amusement.

“You staying for dinner?” she asked.

Nick nodded, but when she got up to start preparing it, he grabbed her hand to get her attention.

“Do you mind if I crash on your sofa tonight?” he asked. “I just want to make sure that you’re properly okay.”

“Of course,” Ellie replied, “But we’ve shared a bed before when we’ve stayed over at each other’s place before. Why would tonight be any different?”

“I just didn’t want to give you the idea that I was expecting anything from you,” he explained.

Ellie smiled, and leant down to kiss him again, laughing when she pulled away and Nick tried to follow her.

“I know you aren’t like that,” Ellie reassured him, to which Nick nodded, before getting up to follow her to the kitchen.  
\---  
It was a few hours later when they climbed into bed together. Like Ellie had said earlier, this wasn’t the first time that they had shared a bed, but this time, instead of staying on their own sides, they moved to the centre of the bed and Nick immediately pulled Ellie into his arms.

“This feels right,” Nick whispered, pressing a kiss to Ellie’s head.

“Yeah,” Ellie sighed in agreement. She stretched up to press a loving kiss to Nick’s lips, before cuddling into him.

Today had been horrible, but they both slept soundly, knowing that tomorrow was guaranteed to be better, simply because of the person they were holding tightly to as they slept.


End file.
